Economy got you down? Move to Australia (seriously!)

Looking for an alternative to job hunting in the U.S.? It’s now easier than ever to work, study and travel in Australia.

College students have been studying abroad for decades, but in today’s increasingly global economy, international experience is becoming more and more valuable to employers. When you add the fact that job prospects in the U.S. are not exactly great right now, you may determine that it’s the right time to consider working or studying overseas. If so, I encourage you to add the Land Down Under to your list. New visa rules between the U.S. and Australia make it easier than ever.

This is a topic that’s close to my heart. After I graduated college in 1996, I studied and worked in Australia for two and-a-half years. It was an amazing, life-changing, career-enhancing experience (if you’re very, very nice to me, I might post embarrassing touristy photos of me petting kangaroos).

Because I was so far from home and surrounded by new opportunities, during my time in Australia I was able to experiment with different career interests, including working for a PR agency, a magazine, a city council and a film festival. As someone who was undecided about my career path out of college, living abroad was a great way to explore my options without feeling too much pressure. Plus, when I returned to the U.S., job interviewers were impressed with my international experience.

Want to learn more about Australia and opportunities to travel, work, study and live there? Visit MySpace and add MySydney as a friend. You’ll find very helpful info on getting a Work and Holiday visa, going to school, getting a job and having fun Down Under. You can also enter a contest to win a dream working vacation in Sydney. If I weren’t over 30, I’d enter myself!

Have any questions about working, studying or living in Australia? Please ask — I’d love to share my personal experience.

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Yes! This is the best advice you’ve given in a long time, Lindsey! I think that going abroad after college is an excellent way to explore a wide variety of career options, meet people from all over the world, and gain unusual experience that will set you apart in a tough job market. It can also be surprisingly affordable. After I graduated from college in 2OO6 with a degree in Latin American Studies, I moved to China. I had 3 fascinating jobs in my 18 months there, as a teacher, an intern, and a consultant. After returning to the US, I found a job relatively easily, and now I’m actually moving back to Beijing in a few weeks to serve as marketing director of a cool nonprofit! I don’t know where I would be today if I hadn’t had the courage to step outside my comfort zone and move across the world.

Kristen

How did you first go about finding a job in Australia? I’m looking for my first job out of college after I graduate in May, and I’m a little intimidated by the whole move to a new country thing- you know find a job-place to live- etc etc. What made you decide on Australia-was it a specific job offer?

I went to Australia on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship (http://www.rotary.org) and went to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where I completed a master’s degree in women’s studies. I chose Australia because I had heard it was fantastic, and it was! Rotary helped me get my visa and health insurance. When I got to Australia I stayed with a Rotary host family and they helped me get settled with an apartment, bank account, etc.

After I was in Australia about 9 months I started taking on some part-time writing work that was advertised through the university. The following year I got a full-time job through an advertisement in the newspaper (this was 1998, so the Internet wasn’t nearly as popular for job hunting).

If you’re interested in living in Australia, I recommend checking out the MySpace MySydney page that I mentioned above. It has links to job boards and also to Australians who are willing to answer any specific questions you have. Feel free to ask me specific questions here as well. Next week I am going to interview an Australian recruiter to talk about how Americans can get jobs in Australia or anywhere overseas.

I hope that’s helpful. Thanks for the comment and let me know if you have any more questions!

What about yoga teachers and writers? What do you recommend we focus on? I’m not sure this actually could help me? Many young folks are broke and feel that we’re stuck where we are. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Shira

Courtney

I stumbled upon your blog while researching jobs in Australia. I’m from CA about to graduate from Villanova as a psychology major. I just studied abroad in Melbourne and fell in love with the city and Australia. I’m dying to go back there when I graduate to live and work for a little while. Do you have any advice on how I should go about finding jobs? I’ve sent out a lot of applications via jobseeker websites as well as emailed all of my contacts in Melbourne and at Villanova who might have international experience. So far I haven’t gotten anything…I have to go back though so if you could help in any way I would truly appreciate it! Thanks so much!!

Jill V

Lindsey,
I’ll be graduating in May of this year and want to move to Australia to find a full-time job. Other than paying over $5,000 for a work visa (what the aussie govt site said), do you have any other suggestions about where to get started? I’m looking for something semi-permanent at this point.

@Courtney and @JillV – Have you tried connecting with some Australian networking groups and Australian recruiters on LinkedIn? If you aren’t having luck with job sites, your career center and the AUS government, I would definitely recommend networking on LinkedIn. Good luck!
Lindsey